Engaging Communities in Emergency Risk and Crisis Communication: Mixed-Method Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis

The World Health Organization (WHO) commissioned systematic reviews to assist with the development of new emergency risk communication guidelines that will impact responses and distribution of resources at all levels. This mixed-method evidence synthesis, guided by Cochrane principles and methods, examined the extant research in countries throughout the world, published from 2003 to 2016, related to the best practices to engage communities in preparing for and responding to emergency events with public health implications. Although few studies directly examined which strategies or tactics effectively engage public participation, many studies reinforced the importance of community participation. The findings support the perspective that emergency events are communicatively understood by all publics and that they benefit from emergency risk communication before, during, and after such events, especially when grounded in local contexts. Although the importance of local context limits the generalizability of risk communication, it is important to continue studying strategies and tactics to cultivate participation among all stakeholders

Trust and Public Health Emergency Events:A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review

The systematic review examined the phenomenon of trust during public health emergency events. The literature reviewed was field studies done with people directly affected or likely to be affected by such events and included quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, and case study primary studies in English (N = 38) as well as Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish (all non-English N = 30). Studies were mostly from high-and middle-income countries, and the event most covered was infectious disease. Findings from individual studies were first synthesized within methods and evaluated for certainty/confidence, and then synthesized across methods. The final set of 11 findings synthesized across methods identified a set of activities for enhancing trust and showed that it is a multi-faceted and dynamic concept

Communicating Uncertainty During Public Health Emergency Events:A Systematic Review

To answer the question, "What are the best ways to communicate uncertainties to public audiences, at-risk communities, and stakeholders during public health emergency events?" we conducted a systematic review of published studies, grey literature, and media reports in English and other United Nations (UN) languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish. Almost 11,500 titles and abstracts were scanned of which 46 data-based primary studies were selected, which were classified into four methodological streams: Quantitative-comparison groups; Quantitative-descriptive survey; Qualitative; and Mixed-method and case-study. Study characteristics (study method, country, emergency type, emergency phase, at-risk population) and study findings (in narrative form) were extracted from individual studies. The findings were synthesized within methodological streams and evaluated for certainty and confidence. These within-method findings were next synthesized across methodological streams to develop an overarching synthesis of findings. The findings showed that country coverage focused on high and middle-income countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania, and the event most covered was infectious disease followed by flood and earthquake. The findings also showed that uncertainty during public health emergency events is a multi-faceted concept with multiple components (e.g., event occurrence, personal and family safety, recovery efforts). There is universal agreement, with some exceptions, that communication to the public should include explicit information about event uncertainties, and this information must be consistent and presented in an easy to understand format. Additionally, uncertainty related to events requires a distinction between uncertainty information and uncertainty experience. At-risk populations experience event uncertainty in the context of many other uncertainties they are already experiencing in their lives due to poverty. Experts, policymakers, healthcare workers, and other stakeholders experience event uncertainty and misunderstand some uncertainty information (e.g., event probabilities) similar to the public. Media professionals provide event coverage under conditions of contradictory and inconsistent event information that can heighten uncertainty experience for all

A Conceptual Framework for the Evaluation of Emergency Risk Communications.

OBJECTIVES: To articulate a conceptual framework in support of evaluation activities in emergency risk communications (ERC). METHODS: The framework proposed is based on a systematic review of the scientific literature (2001-2016) combined with data derived from a series of semistructured interviews with experts and practitioners in ERC, and it is designed to support local, national, and international public health organizations in implementing evaluation studies in ERC. RESULTS: We identified a list of ERC outcomes from the full-text review of 152 articles and categorized these into 3 groups, depending upon the level at which the outcome was measured: (1) information environment, (2) population, and (3) public health system. We analyzed interviewees' data from 18 interviews to identify practices and processes related to the effectiveness of ERC and included these as key structural components and processes in the developed evaluation framework. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers and public health practitioners interested in the evaluation of ERC can use the conceptual framework described in this article to guide the development of evaluation studies and methods for assessing communication outcomes related to public health emergencies

Facilitating Training Simulations for Health Emergency

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Delivering WHO’s Life-Saving Information in Real-Time During a Pandemic Through an Online Learning Platform: Evidence from Global Use

Accessibility, multilingualism and real-time knowledge transfer are the tenets of the OpenWHO learning platform. A descriptive analysis was conducted using anonymised statistical datasets retrieved from the OpenWHO reporting system to understand global use trends. When examining OpenWHO use in the areas with the highest burden of COVID-19 cases, a strong correlation was identified between the burden of COVID-19 and OpenWHO user activity. Further, health professionals are the top users of COVID-19 materials. The massive demand for OpenWHO courses confirms the need for real-time learning materials in accessible, multilingual formats during a pandemic. Learning is a global public good and is an essential component of the response to health emergencies.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Making sense of communication interventions in public health emergencies – an evaluation framework for risk communication

Communication interventions during public health emergencies (e.g. infectious disease outbreaks) are increasingly acknowledged as a determinant of success in preparedness, response and recovery. Challenges related to the current outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa once again reveal the need to strengthen our understanding of the central importance and complexity of risk communication and social mobilisation strategies. There is little hard evidence, however, on the impact of various communication interventions upon the dynamics of public health emergencies to guide our capacity development. This article proposes a new evaluative framework which builds on an understanding of risk communication as an interactive, holistic, continuous and engaging activity that focuses on dialogue, intelligence gathering, building relationships over time with a knowledge base informed by new and accessible communication technologies (e.g. social media and networks) and supportive environments. Our hypothesis is that impact is measureable through the evaluation of identifiable performance parameters related to the dynamics of an outbreak. Our assumption is that risk communication interventions that lead to earlier detection, faster response, smoother coordination and a smarter legacy (ability to use processes and outcomes to improve current and future performance) lead to lower morbidity and mortality (reduced AUCepidemic curve). This new evaluation framework for risk communication measures the relation between a baseline dynamic of epidemic and communication activities and the changed dynamic resulting from risk communication activities (e.g. earlier detection, faster response, smoother coordination and smarter legacy). We believe that a better understanding of how the two dynamics relate can lead to a better management of future public health emergencies

One Year of Pandemic Learning Response : Benefits of Massive Online Delivery of the World Health Organization’s Technical Guidance

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the first web-based learning course on COVID-19 on January 26, 2020, four days before the director general of the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO is expanding access to web-based learning for COVID-19 through its open-learning platform for health emergencies, OpenWHO. Throughout the pandemic, OpenWHO has continued to publish learning offerings based on the WHO’s emerging evidence-based knowledge for managing the COVID-19 pandemic. This study presents the various findings derived from the analysis of the performance of the OpenWHO platform during the pandemic, along with the core benefits of massive web-based learning formats.publishedVersionPeer reviewe